This invention relates to a camera steadying device.
The picture sharpness that can be obtained only when a camera is sturdily supported, as by a tripod, has long been considered inconsistent with the freedom of action characteristic of hand-held cameras. Such freedom of action has been considered incompatible with tripod support, for it takes time to attach the tripod to the camera when the two have been carried separately, and further time is lost and annoyance added by having to loosen and tighten levers, as is necessary on conventional tripod heads, and by that time the picture may be gone or the photographer's creative mood may be lost by the frustations involved; his companions on field trips may be impatiently urging him to leave or may have departed already. Therefore, many photographers have sacrificed picture sharpness to the convenience and near necessity of having a simple camera strap around their neck and holding the camera by hand. Others have chosen the more cumbersome course of keeping the camera attached to the tripod, with its awkwardness for carrying and the requirement of having to contend with the aggravating and time-consuming levers found on conventional tripod heads, which levers must be loosened before the photographer can properly frame his picture and must then be retightened before he takes his picture.
One object of the present invention is to combine the convenience of the hand-carried camera with the steadiness of tripod support. This invention enables the photographer to obtain the tripod support that he needs for picture sharpness while it also enables him to detach the camera immediately from the tripod. It also enables the photographer to obtain instantly any desired camera angle while getting tripod support.